Chicken thief dies after chopped by watchman; other thief arrested

Police are investigating the circumstances under which a chicken thief died after he was chopped by a watchman.

Police Headquarters in a statement reported that on Monday between 03:00 hrs and 04:00 hrs, the unidentified man and two other thieves were found in the chicken farm at Perseverance, East Bank.

The police reported that a 41-year-old watchman who works on the farm was awakened by noises coming from the chicken pen and saw persons moving in the pen. The watchman armed himself with a cutlass and confronted the three suspects who were leaving with two large bags with chickens. One of the suspects previously worked at the same chicken farm.

Police said the watchman told the men to put back the chickens and attempted to prevent them from leaving.

“Two of the males whipped out a cutlass and a hammer and rushed towards the man, who dodged from a chop and dealt the male armed with the hammer a chop,” the police reported.

The watchman and the suspects were involved in a fight but one of the suspects managed to escape.

The watchman contacted his employer who came and took the injured men to the Providence Police Station. They were then taken to the Diamond Diagnostic Hospital, where the unidentified suspect was pronounced dead.

The ex-employee was arrested and police said he was also wanted for a two other robberies committed on the owner of the farm.

The watchman is also in police custody assisting with investigations.